2,145 Primary Schools Face Closure or Merger Over Low Enrolment.
The Ministry of Education has revealed that 2,145 public primary schools have not met the minimum enrolment requirement of 45 learners, raising concerns on sustainability, funding eligibility and resource utilisation in the Basic Education structure.
The Ministry of Education has already closed 10 public secondary schools in 10 counties after they were found to have no learners following an audit that exposed management and data gaps in the education system.
The findings are from an ongoing nationwide verification of Basic Education institutions initiated after the Office of the Auditor-General observed that some schools receiving capitation funds were non-existent.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the verification is to establish the true number of schools and learners to ensure accountability in the disbursement of public funds. He said capitation will only be released to institutions whose enrolment has been verified.
During the third-term funding cycle, the Ministry of Education submitted an enrolment figure of 5.8 million learners in 23,889 primary schools to the National Treasury to support a request for KSh1.65 billion. The Ministry of Education reported that KSh1.36 billion has been disbursed for 4.8 million learners.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said 16,788 primary schools with 4.29 million learners were cleared for full capitation and received KSh1.22 billion. 3,979 schools with 235,461 learners below the 90-learner threshold also received full capitation of KSh66.8 million.
3,065 schools that submitted incomplete or inaccurate enrolment data were issued 50 percent of their allocation based on NEMIS records, covering 280,900 learners at a cost of KSh79.7 million.
The Ministry of Education received KSh5.7 billion for 2.43 million learners in 20,927 Junior Schools. After verification, 2.94 million learners in 20,630 Junior Schools were cleared for disbursement totalling KSh5.13 billion.
This includes KSh78.2 million for 56,599 learners in 2,145 Junior Schools whose enrolment is below the threshold and KSh122.4 million issued at 50 percent allocation to 934 schools pending clearance.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said 934 schools are yet to be cleared due to incomplete or incorrect data and the Ministry of Education field officers are helping institutions to submit correct records.
For secondary schools, the Ministry of Education said KSh10.37 billion was received for third-term capitation based on an enrolment of 3.35 million learners in 9,550 schools.
After verification, 3.2 million learners were cleared and KSh10.09 billion disbursed. 9,540 schools were funded while 10 schools were closed after they were found to have no learners.
The 10 closed schools are Kiria Secondary School (Nyandarua), Dr Machage Moheto (Migori), Ragia Forest High (Kiambu), Mugwandi Mixed (Kirinyaga), Friends Bulovi (Kakamega), Loiwat High (Baringo), Ngamba Secondary School (Murang’a), Sintakara Secondary School (Narok), Maji Mazuri Mixed (Baringo) and Fr. Leo Staples Girls (West Pokot).
The Ministry of Education has announced increased monitoring and verification to prevent payment to non-existent schools or unverified learners.
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Education CS Julius Ogamba said the disbursements for the period included KSh10 million to Free Day Secondary, KSh5.1 billion to Free Day Junior and KSh1.7 billion to Free Primary totalling KSh16.5 billion. The Ministry of Education said KSh1.1 billion is still pending verification.
Education CS Julius Ogamba said the Ministry will continue to strengthen data to ensure decisions on resource allocation are based on facts.
2,145 Primary Schools Face Closure or Merger Over Low Enrolment.
